Webinar: What do you need to know about Vaccines in General and the SARS-COV-2 Vaccines in Particular?

Date/Time: Saturday, December 19, 2020, 6:00pm IST

Speaker: Dr. Kalai Mathee, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Florida International University, USA

Recording available at: https://youtu.be/UmXRnNdYHLs

Abstract: This will be an overview of vaccines starting with the fundamental principle behind vaccine development, the various vaccine types currently in use — the live attenuated/killed pathogens, toxoid, subunit, conjugate, polysaccharide, and recombinant vaccines. This will be followed by introducing the new SARS-CoV-2 vaccines rolled out by Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, Astra Zeneca, and Merck. All the vaccines are essentially a subunit vaccine that targets the highly glycosylated spike protein that covers the virus's surface. The significant difference is how the information is delivered to the host.

Bio: Dr. Mathee is the founding faculty member and founding chairman of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Florida International University, USA. A native of Malaysia, Dr. Mathee received BSc (Genetics) and M Sc (Microbial Genetics) degrees from the University of Malaya and went on to complete her Ph.D. in Molecular Microbiology at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, USA. She has established a multi-faceted research program focused on molecular pathogenesis in the model organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa that is responsible for the high morbidity and mortality in CF patients.

Target Audience: This is for a wider audience. In particular, higher secondary and college students and teachers are welcome.

This webinar will be conducted over Zoom. The Zoom link will be available to registrants (sent to their email addresses) shortly before the webinar starts.

This webinar is part of SKC Science and Technology Webinar Series.